Hydrex diver/technicians travelled to Tenerife for an underwater propeller blade straightening on a 246 m cruise ship.
The ship’s crew had noticed that the engine was overloading. This was the result of damaged propeller blades that were performing below average. The engine had a higher workload, leading to an increased fuel consumption and added stress.
A detailed survey of the ship’s two propellers revealed that the four starboard side propeller blades of the vessel were bent. Luckily the port side propeller blades were in good condition and did not require any repairs.
Hydrex team positioned the straightening machine over the bend in the trailing edge of the first damaged blade. In close communication with the team leader in the monitoring station onshore, the divers returned the bent blade to its original state.
When the straightening was complete, the technicians cleaned the blade to make sure that any remaining loss of efficiency would be minimal. The same procedure was then repeated on the other three blades.
